Mario Kart
Mario Kart (マリオカート Mario Kāto?) is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed and published by Nintendo as spin-offs from its trademark Super Mario series. The first in the series, Super Mario Kart, was launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to critical and commercial success.1 To date, there have been five Mario Kart games released for home consoles, three portable games, and three Namco co-developed arcade games, for a total of eleven. The latest title in the series, Mario Kart 8, was released on Wii U in May 2014. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide to date. Contents hide * 1 History * 2 Gameplay ** 2.1 Courses ** 2.2 Modes of play * 3 List of Mario Kart games ** 3.1 Console games ** 3.2 Arcade games * 4 Other appearances * 5 Characters ** 5.1 Console characters ** 5.2 Arcade characters ** 5.3 Notes * 6 Merchandise * 7 Reception * 8 See also * 9 References * 10 External links Historyedit The first title in the Mario Kart series is Super Mario Kart and was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The development of the first game was overseen by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese video game designer who helped create the original Super Mario Bros., as well as many other successful games for Nintendo. Darran Jones of NowGamer suggests that the original success of Super Mario Kart was the result of including characters previously seen in Mario Bros. games, while also being a new type of racing game.2 Gameplayedit Mario driving upside-down using the anti-gravity mechanic introduced in''Mario Kart 8''. In the Mario Kart series, players compete in go-kart races, controlling one of a selection of characters from the Mario franchise. Up to twelve characters can compete in each race depending on which installment in the series. One of the features of the series is the use of various power-up items obtained by driving into item boxes laid out on the course. These power-ups include mushrooms to give players a speed boost, Koopa Shells to be thrown at opponents, and banana peels that can be laid on the track as hazards. The type of weapon received from an item box is often random, though sometimes influenced by the player's current position in the race.3 For example, players lagging far behind may receive more powerful items while the leader will only receive small defensive items. Called rubber banding, this gameplay mechanism allows other players or computers a realistic chance to catch up to the leading player. As the series has progressed, each new installment has introduced new elements in order to keep the gameplay fresh, such as new courses, items, and playable characters.3 These changes include: * Mario Kart 64 introduced 4-player racing and 3D graphics.3 This game also introduced Wario and Donkey Kong as playable characters, as well as the blue shell as an item. * Mario Kart: Super Circuit introduces the ability to unlock retro tracks from previous installments. * Mario Kart: Double Dash!! features co-operative LAN play and two-player karts.3 Also introduces eleven new playable characters (Princess Daisy, Birdo, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Paratroopa, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr.,Waluigi, Toadette, Petey Piranha, and King Boo). Finally, this game introduced unlockable characters to the series. * Mario Kart DS features dual-screen play and introduces online multiplayer (via Wi-Fi) & retro battle courses. Introduces Shy Guy (exclusive to DS Download Play), Dry Bones, and R.O.B. as playable characters. * Mario Kart Wii features motion controls, 12-player racing, and introduces motorbikes.4 Six new playable characters were introduced, being Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Rosalina, Funky Kong, Dry Bowser, and two outfits for Mii characters. * Mario Kart 7 features stereoscopic 3D graphics, introduces hang gliding and submersible karts, and features an alternate first-person perspective and kart customization.3 Introduces Metal Mario, Lakitu, Wiggler, and Honey Queen as new playable characters. * Mario Kart 8 features anti-gravity racing, introduces ATVs, uploading highlights to YouTube via Mario Kart TV, up to four local players in Grand Prix races, downloadable content, and is the first in the series to boast HD graphics. Introduces the Koopalings, Baby Rosalina, Pink Gold Peach as new playable characters, and Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Villager, Isabelle and Link as new downloadable playable characters.5 Coursesedit Many courses, or course themes, recur throughout the series. Most of these courses are based on an existing area in the Mario series (Bowser's Castle being among the most prominent), but there are a number of courses that have not appeared in other games but still belong in the Mushroom Kingdom, such as Rainbow Road.3 Each game in the series includes at least sixteen original courses and up to six original battle arenas.3 Each game's tracks are divided into four "cups", or groups that the player has to have the highest overall placing to win. Most courses can be done in three laps. The first game to feature courses which had appeared in a previous game was Mario Kart: Super Circuit, which contained all of the tracks from the original Super Nintendo game. Starting with''Mario Kart DS'', each entry in the series has featured 16 original courses and 16 "retro" tracks drawn from previous titles, spread across four cups each. In Mario Kart 8, new tracks are available in two downloadable packages, eight for each package downloaded.5This downloadable content will include courses based on other Nintendo titles, such as The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing, making them the first Mario Kart courses to be set outside the Mario universe. Modes of playedit Each installment features a variety of different modes. The following four modes recur most often in the series: * Grand Prix – Players compete in various "cups," groups of four courses each (five in Super Mario Kart) with four difficulty levels: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc and Mirror (150cc). As the level increases, the vehicles will go faster. There are eight cups in all and they're divided into two types: Nitro and Retro. Players earn points according to their finishing position and the top three players with the most points overall will receive a trophy. * Time Trial – The player races alone in order to finish any course in the fastest time possible. The best time is then saved as a ghost, which the player can compete against in later trials. * VS – Multiple human players race against each other on any course with customized rules such as team racing and item frequency. Mario Kart DS and later games allow single-player VS races and CPU controlled players to compete in VS races as well. * Battle – Multiple human players use racing items to battle each other in a closed arena. Each player starts with three balloons and loses a balloon with every hit sustained; the last player possessing at least one balloon wins. Different battle types were added as the series progressed, as well as single-player battles. Starting with Mario Kart Wii, there is a time limit for each battle. For Mario Kart 8, the battles take place on race courses. List of Mario Kart gamesedit At one point, there was also a game in the series planned for the Virtual Boy in 1995. Entitled Super Mario Kart: Virtual Cup, it was likely to be the first sequel to Super Mario Kart. The game was cancelled due to the Virtual Boy's failure, but was revealed in a 2000 issue of German gaming magazine The Big N.10